Betsy of Lake Marion

Last summer my wife and mother in-law planned a fall fishing trip for the entire family to Eutawville, South Carolina on Lake Marion. The location was picked specifically for my father in-law and myself. Who are both avid fishermen, and enjoy all type of fishing especially cat fishing which is particularly good on Lake Marion. The property we rented for the week came equipped with a kayak, a paddle boat, and a small two man fiberglass fishing boat. The first day was extremely gloomy, overcast with scattered showers and thunderstorms. The day was spent mostly settling into our rooms, taking a trip to the grocery store, and spending the rest of the day watching the rain from the screened in porch anxiously waiting to get a few lines in the water.

The second day started out rainy and gloomy as well, but began to clear up in the evening. My father in law and my self (chomping at the bit to get fishing) scurried down to the pier along with and started our fishing rods ready and in the water. My brother in-law Scott got the boats out of the building and drug them down to the water for the next day. After Scott had all three boats down by the water he decided to hop in the kayak and go for a spin before it got dark. He paddled out and disappeared around the bend. Moments later he yelled across the cove “Hey theres a gator over here” after a few more minutes he called out again “hey y’all come here theres gators out here.” Knowing that you cannot take Scott seriously we giggled and joked in unbelief and continued fishing. When he arrived back he kept going on and on about two alligators he had seen around the bend.

The next afternoon when the day got warm enough as the fall temperatures had already started to drop into the low 70’s. We decided to all load up in the boats and set out to try to find Scott’s fictional alligators (still making jokes and laughing behind his back). My wife, Sister in-law, and nephew in the paddle boat Scott on the Kayak and my stepson Brett and my self in the fishing boat we set out in the same direction that Scott had went the day before. Brett and I hugged the bank watching the minnows and turtles as we maneuvered through the cypress trees that grew up out of the water. As we rounded the bend we were all startled to learn the joke was on us as we saw a quite large alligator basking in the sun on a sandy part of the bank. Brett and I quickly paddled over to the boat my wife was on and got her phone ( her being the only one that thought to bring a phone with us). After I got her phone Brett and I slowly began to paddle in close enough to get a few pictures while maintaining a safe distance from the gator. We got about 40 feet away from the bank where the alligator was resting. I pulled the camera up on the phone and zoomed in as close as the phones camera would go, and managed to get a few photos of the alligator before it bolted into the water. At which point we decided was a good time to turn back and head the other direction giving the large alligator ( that my wife later named Betsy) its space. After an hour or so of paddling around, and almost sinking the paddle boat when my step son decided to change boats mid-lake. We made our way back to the rental to show off our photos of Betsy to my mother and father in law and social media of course.

The rest of our trip was a blast spending our time alternating between fishing and riding out to see Betsy. Who occasionally saved us the trouble by swimming out in the bend for us to watch from the pier. We payed close attention to never get to close but we kept tabs on Betsy for the remainder of the trip. Everyone had so much fun that my mother in law bought two kayaks, My wife and I bought two as well along with a 14 foot fishing boat, And already have our next trip to Lake Marion booked. We decided to try a different part of the lake this time around so unfortunately we will not be revisiting Betsy. None the less we are all super exciting to see what other adventures and amazing creatures await as we return to the beautiful Lake Marion in South Carolina.

“ You don’t make a photograph with just a camera.

You bring to the act of photography all the pictures

you have seen, the books you have read, the music

you have heard, the people you have loved.”

- Ansel Adams